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Charities Bill [HL]

had given notice of his intention to move Amendment No. 15:"Page 47, line 19, at end insert—" ““(   )   This section is without prejudice to section 75ZB. 75ZB   POWER TO SPEND CAPITAL WHICH CONSISTS OF EXCLUDED ENDOWMENT (1)   This section applies to any excluded endowment of a charity which cannot be spent under the provisions of section 75A and ““excluded endowment”” means land held on trusts which stipulate that it is to be used for the purposes, or any particular purposes, of the charity. (2)   Where the conditions in subsection (3) below are met, the charity trustees may resolve for the purposes of this section that the excluded endowment, or part of it, ought to be sold and be freed from— (a)   the restrictions with respect to expenditure of capital; and (b)   any restrictions with respect to the use to which the land must be put; that apply to it so that the proceeds of sale may be used to purchase land or erect buildings (or both) to be used to further the purposes, or any particular purpose, of the charity. (3)   The conditions referred to in subsection (2) are that— (a)   the charity trustees are satisfied that the excluded endowment (or part thereof) which they propose to sell is surplus to the current and forseeable needs of the charity; (b)   the charity trustees are satisfied that the purposes of the charity could be carried out more effectively if the excluded endowment, or the relevant portion thereof, were sold and the proceeds applied in purchasing land or erecting buildings (or both) to be used for the purposes, or any particular purpose, of the charity; and (c)   that, where the charity trustees propose using the proceeds of sale of the expendable endowment (or part thereof) to erect a building, the charity trustees have obtained a certificate from a qualified architect that the proposed building has an expected life of not less than 75 years. (4)   The charity trustees— (a)   must send a copy of any resolution under subsection (2) to the Commission, together with a statement of their reasons for passing it and a certified copy of the statement referred to in subsection (3)(c) above; and (b)   may not implement the resolution except in accordance with the following provisions of this section. (5)   Subsections (6) and (7) of section 75A apply to this section. (6)   When considering whether to concur with the resolution, the Commission must take into account— (a)   any evidence available to it as to the wishes of the donor or donors mentioned in section 75A(1)(a), (b)   any changes in the circumstances relating to the charity since the making of the gift or gifts (including, in particular, the needs of its beneficiaries, and the social, economic and legal environment in which it operates), (c)   the spirit of the gift or gifts mentioned in section 75A(1)(a) (even though a sale would be inconsistent with the restrictions imposed upon the gift or gifts). (7)   Before the end of the period of three months beginning with the relevant date, the Commission must notify the charity trustees in writing either— (a)   that the Commission concurs with the resolution, or (b)   that it does not concur with it. (8)   In subsection (7) above, ““the relevant date”” means— (a)   in a case where the Commission directs the charity trustees under subsection 75A(6) (as applied to this section) to give public notice of the resolution, the date when that notice is given, and (b)   in any other case, the date on which the Commission receives the copy of the resolution in accordance with subsection (4) above. (9)   Where— (a)   the charity trustees are notified by the Commission that it concurs with the resolution, or (b)   the period of three months mentioned in subsection (7) above has elapsed without the Commission notifying them that it does not concur with the resolution, the excluded endowment (or portion) may, by virtue of this section, be sold and expended in carrying out the purposes, or any particular purpose, set out in the resolution mentioned in subsection (2). (10)   In this section— (a)   ““qualified architect”” means an individual registered with the Architects Registration Board; and (b)   references to the erection of buildings includes any expenditure reasonably necessary to equip such buildings for the purposes of the charity.”” The noble Lord said: My Lords, I would like to respond briefly to the Minister. I am grateful for the movement that his reply represented. I would be grateful if he would respond to this, however briefly. He said that the Charity Commission was undertaking a review of all this, and that it thought there might be a possibility of changing its own policy with regard to permanent endowment, which would be along the lines of the amendment. My concern is that if it comes to the conclusion that it does not have that flexibility or that power, unless it acts speedily we will have lost the chance to put the law right in the other place. It seemed to me that the Minister endorsed the overall objective of both my amendment and that of the noble Lord, Lord Hodgson. I wonder, therefore, whether he can give us any reassurance that if the inquiries prove to be negative we can have a joint essay down the other end to make the Bill that much better.